21 bodies found at crash site of Nepali plane

A rescue team of Nepal Army carry the body of a plane crash victim at the airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, May 30, 2022. Twenty-one bodies have been recovered from the crash site of a Nepali passenger plane in a remote hilly area in Nepal's Mustang district, a local government official said on Monday. Ten bodies have been sent to Kathmandu in a helicopter, the official said. (Photo by Sulav Shrestha/Xinhua)

KATHMANDU, May 30 (Xinhua) -- Twenty-one bodies have been recovered from the crash site of a Nepali passenger plane in a remote hilly area in Nepal's Mustang district, a local government official said on Monday.

"Twenty-one dead bodies have been recovered while one remains missing," Netra Prasad Sharma, chief district official of Mustang, told Xinhua.

Ten bodies have been sent to Kathmandu in a helicopter, the official said.

The Twin Otter plane went missing on Sunday morning minutes after it took off from the Nepali city of Pokhara for Jomsom in Mustang district. The Nepal Army, which is leading the search and rescue effort, found the crash site on Monday morning.

Nineteen passengers, among them 13 Nepalis, four Indians and two Germans, were aboard the plane along with three crew members, said Tara Air, the operator of the flight.

Indra Singh Sherchan, a hotelier at the crash site, said the site is located at 4,100 meters above sea level and the bodies were scattered here and there on the cliff.

"As the plane didn't catch fire, the faces can be identified," he told Xinhua.

Air accidents are not rare in Nepal as travel by air is an option when overland routes are generally not in good shape in the mountainous country, especially during the monsoon season.